CoBotCraftLab – Approaching Human-Robot Collaboration in Digital Craft

Abstract: This paper intends to depict the specific research approach established through the CoBotCraftLab portal - a robot cell for automated collaborative manufacturing in the construction industry - that is currently being installed at Bochum University of Applied Sciences (HSBO). This manufacturing cell consists of 6 collaborative robots (cobots) with individual load capacities of 20-25 kg each, which are movably mounted on linear axes and equipped with application-specific or generalist manipulators via tool changing systems. The overall system has 42 degrees of freedom of movement and will thus be able to perform a wide range of automatable tasks from the field of building construction. These include additive manufacturing of complex components, automated and collaborative prefabrication of component parts, automated application of tools such as drills and milling machines in regard to joints in lightweight structures, and applications from the field of non-destructive testing of building materials. The large-scale equipment, once installed, will present a significant contribution to the establishment of an interdisciplinary laboratory environment for research into working methods for collaborative manufacturing with craftsmen and robots in building construction. The innovative approach is to enable simultaneous and collaborative manufacturing between humans and robots by setting up the large-scale device using small-scale collaborative robots, allowing the precise and rapid production of a variety of prototypes from different materials at 1:1 scale. In this work environment, collaborative workflows involving robots and humans, both in separate and shared workspaces, will be able to be tested. Using the robotic manufacturing cell, a prototypical fabrication of demonstrators is intended to help find answers to research questions in the fields of "Digitalization of construction and craft", "Demographic change and safety" and "New methods for circular building". The cell will be used to develop workflows and record process data, which will form the basis for dealing with the following major research questions:To what extent are robotic processes capable of replicating traditional crafts, reanimating traditional techniques and transferring and scaling them to match the realm of construction? Can joint workspaces that are simultaneous in terms of space and time, involving craftsmen and robots, be developed that efficiently enable the fabrication of building components, such as for example built-in elements in housing construction? How do requirements for work safety and ergonomics change in the context of digital craft and demographic change? How can the existing gap between the experiential knowledge of humans and the precision and speed of robotics be closed in the context of construction processes? Can collaborative human-robot interactions go beyond the synthesizing function to also cater to disassembling and analytically sorting processes, as we encounter an emerging circular construction industry?

Keywords: digital building, cobot, robot cell, human-robot-collaboration, digital craft, digital building construction, circular fabrication

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006762

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